Armistice Day

The three last living veterans of World War II, Bill Stone, 108, Henry Allingham, 113, and Harry Patch, 111, died this year.

A special memorial service will be held at Westminster Abbey on November 11th, at 11 a.m. GMT. Queen Elizabeth, Gordon Brown, John Major, and Margaret Thatcher will be in attendance.

"Exactly 91 years ago, at the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day of th eleventh month, the guns fell silent."

So began the memorial service at Westminster Abbey. This year's remembrance was especially moving, because during this year, the last three veterans of World War I died.

Bill Stone: Born in 1900, he was too young to fight in World War I. He tried to enlist when he was 15, but his father refused to give his permission. When he turned 18, he enlisted in the British Navy. In 1940, he was part of the evacuation of Dunkirk. After he left the navy in 1945, he ran a barber shop until he retired in 1968.

He died this year at age 108.

Harry Patch: Born in 1898, he was drafted into the British army in 1916. He fought in France, and was wounded in action in 1917. After the war, he came back to England and worked as a plumber, eventually running a plumbing company until he retired.

He died this year at age 111.

Henry Allingham: Born in 1896, he joined the Royal Naval Air Service in 1915. After the war, he joined the Ford Motor Company, at its British plant. During the Second World War, he worked on special projects, including counter-measures to German magnetic mines.

He retired from Ford in 1960.

A friend said of him, after he died at age 113, "Henry was active right up until his final months, celebrating his 113th birthday on board HMS President and although he was starting to show his age, he was jubilant about being a teenager again."

Veterans Day

Sgt. Miriam Choen, USMC, age 101, died on Memorial Day, and was laid to rest in New York's Mount Carmel cemetary. A Marine bugler payed taps

She joined the Marines in 1943, when she was 35. During WW II, she was stationed in Washington, D.C. She also served during the Korean War. When she left active Marine duty, she worked for the IRS. When she retired from that, she refused to accept Social Security.

When she was 93, she moved to Arizona, where she lived alone until four years ago.

During World War II, 1100 women served in the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). Their job was to fly military aircraft, usually from aircraft factories to airbases, transporting cargo, towing targets for artillery practice, in order to free up men for combat duty.

Of the 25,000 women that applied, only 1,900 were accepted, and of these, 1,078 graduated. During the war, 38 were killed.

Fewer than 300 are still alive.

This year, four of the surviving WASP will be honored at a celebration at Mather (site of a former Air Force Base)